It is known in the art to produce endless power transmission belts which employ discrete fibers embedded in an elastomeric matrix and as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,416,383, 3,657,938, and U.S. application Ser. No. 668,544, filed Mar. 19, 1976 for example. However, the fibers disclosed in these patents and application are not of optimum strength and thus do not provide a belt having the desired strength and/or flexibility.
It has also been suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 3,969,568 that aramid fibers are useful in the formation of tires, belts, hoses, etc. However, this latter patent teaches utilization of a comparatively expensive adhesive system to bond the aramid fibers in position which inherently increases the cost of the article made using same.